Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

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Party in a Teacup were absolutely delighted to be a part of 3 Biggest Morning Tea’s this year to help raise money for the Cancer Council Australia. We donated our services all three times, and had the joy of attending all three events as well. It made for a massive weekend, but we’re pleased to say that between the 3 parties they event hosts raised over $2000. How fantastic!!

Two events were private in peoples own homes, and the third was a public event run by the Kooky Kraft Klub, who’s operate in Melbourne’s Inner West. This one was a Mad Hatters Tea Party and Art Show, displaying some amazing crocheted, knitted and crafted ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed fancies. All the food was donated and we provided the vintage teaware, decorations, cake stands and table settings. Only too happy to bring you some photos from that day!

The green grass carpet
Even the bunny thought the sandwiches were yummo
Some of the gorgeous and kooky crochet entries for the Mad Hatters Tea Party Exhibition
Now isn’t that the most amazing crocheted clock you’ve ever seen!
Super Yummy Yoyos
Is that a white rabbit I see?
The Mad Hatters Tea Party Table Settings
Drink Me! The Mad Hatters Tea Party
Crochet and teacups have always gone together, but never this well!!
The Mad hatter of course! Drinking Tea!
Rainbow Swirl Cupcakes on the princess stand
Rainbow Swirl cupcake by me :)
Sandwiches and Cakepops galore
A selection of our beautiful vintage teacups set up in the gallery for the mad hatters tea party
Love this Teacup!
The Mad hatters tea party table settings
Displaying the mad but beautiful tea cosies
People having a ball, eating scrumptious food and drinking tea while listening to some great local music

Under the Sea, Under the Sea!

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Are you singing like Sebastian yet? We were in our house a few weekends ago!

A while back I posted about making some Message in a Bottle invitations for my daughter’s 2nd Birthday, and gee how that time has flown. It’s always a bit different setting up a party of your own, especially because my mind changed changed on a daily basis around what I wanted to party to look like. I could write my own brief but I know I’d never stick to it.

My little girl Lucy for a while there had a fascination with Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid and she wanted to watch the movies every day. Lucky I love Disney films, that’s all I can say! I wanted to create the feel of an underwater party for her but without the obvious links to the commercial films. The colour palette was light pink, blue and green which would give it a girly underwater appearance without going overboard (pardon the pun!) I wanted to incorporate lots of shells,  scalloped patterns, seaweed and coral.

The space we had to work is was quite small, given our house is a small terrace and the kitchen/dining/living space is all in the one room. Also being a Melbourne (almost) winter, there was no guarantee that we would be able to extend the party into the back yard – however I am thankful that the weather held out for us. After moving all of our regular furniture around or out I think the space ended up working quite well.

I did have some fabulous help from some of my local mummy suppliers – Let’s Celebrate Parties had the balloons and the cookie cutters, The Cupcake Maker made the beautiful cake and Tiny Tables and Chairs hired us the childrens size trestle table. I also have to give a big thankyou to Michelle B for all her help setting up and painting my chairs!! And to my gorgeous mum and sister for their help too.

Now I’m sure you want to see some pictures so here we go!

We decided on a costume favour instead of lolly bags, so each guest got to take home a mermaid or a fishy tail that my mum and I created. Lollies and 2y/o's aren't a good mix, especially after enough sugar at the party! we also dipped the cutlery ends in mod podge & glitter to give some extra sparkle to the pace settings

We decided on a costume favour instead of lolly bags, so each guest got to take home a mermaid or a fishy tail that my mum and I created. Lollies and 2y/o’s aren’t a good mix, especially after enough sugar at the party! we also dipped the cutlery ends in mod podge & glitter to give some extra sparkle to the pace settings

Our lounge room transformed for the under the sea party. Seaweed streamers made up a chandelier and ran the whole length of one wall

Our lounge room transformed for the under the sea party. Seaweed streamers made up a chandelier and ran the whole length of one wall

The Food Table, drinks and presents tables set under the seaweed streamers. We handmade the table skirt for the food table.

The Food Table, drinks and presents tables set under the seaweed streamers. We handmade the table skirt for the food table.

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I couldn’t find the chairs I wanted anywhere for hire, so after a few weeks of scouting I came up with 12 gorgeous little vintage wooden chairs. We sanded them back and painted them off white. I think they were perfect! They’re now part of our equipment for hire.

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I wanted the balloons to look like jellyfish floating above the table, I think they look a bit more like balloons with seaweed hanging from them, but I was happy with the result :)

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How divine is the birthday cake?!? I have to also mention that all the digital design was done in house. I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted elsewhere, so I extended my photoshop skills and I’m very happy! I created the backdrop, invites, place cards, food labels and entry sign.

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The Party was not without it’s disasters. Don’t look too closely at the tableskirt, and these little jelly cups with crocodiles were meant to be a single moulded jellyfish. Always the way, the mould worked perfectly in all my practice runs, but this one fell to bits as I was turning it out. :( Lucky I had the little jars handy!

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Starfish and Dolphin sandwiches, Seahorse and Fishy iced cookies, Cheesy Pasta shells over the back there. All the food had an underwater theme too

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These were by far my favourite!

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The food table in its entirety. Just enough to feed a horde of toddlers :)

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The Birthday Girl’s chair

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And who doesn’t love home made cupcakes, especially when they’re made by Aunty Shell Shell? These were our little sand dollars. Not perfect looking but gosh they tasted amazing!

So I’m looking forward to a nice laid back picnic in the park next year…..maybe…..actually I have had my eye on a full sized carousel horse which would make a beautiful centrepiece ;)

Shelly xo

Gumboots and Tutus at the Collingwood Childrens Farm

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What a wonderful day we had today. In the last post you saw us making some gumboot planters, well this is the little girl’s birthday we used them in. Little Lola turned 2 today and it was wonderful to be a part of her celebrations. The theme was Gumboots, Farms and Tutus, which combined lots of Lollys favourite things. The Collingwood Childrens Farm, a gorgeous little farm next to the Abbortsford Convent, just north east of Melbourne was the perfect setting. Mother nature kept her part of the deal for a gorgeous day, and we were lucky enough get a few picnic tables to ourselves under a big old peppercorn tree.
Coordinating a party at a public venue can be a tricky and this one certainly had us on our toes. The venue opened only 20 minutes before the party was due to start, and as a result guests were arriving as we were still setting up, and hungry little hands didn’t want to leave all the pretty food on the table for very long! But we got it together and it looked super cute just in time to feed everyone morning tea.

Mums and Dads munching on Scones with Jam & Cream, Kids devouring cake pops and chocolate milk, all the while the free roaming chickens were cleaning up the dropped crumbs under our feet. Just brilliant! After a hearty round of happy birthday and blowing out the candles on the Peppa Pig cake, it was time to have a run around the farm to see the horses, cows, goats, pigs and piglets too!

Here a are a few photos from today, hope you enjoy them!donuts

Chocolate Milk and Donuts

Chocolate Milk and Donuts

Treat boxes for the kids

Treat boxes for the kids

Mmmm Chocolate Milk

Mmmm Chocolate Milk

Peppa Pig Cake

Peppa Pig Cake

Tutus in the Trees

Tutus in the Trees

Making Days

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We’ve got a couple of little birthday parties on the horizon, so there are a few things to be made up and I thought I’d share some progress photos with you. The first party has a Gumboots and Tutus theme, and the next an Under the Sea theme. The Easter long weekend is a nice quiet one for us, so while Mr paints our bedroom and the little Miss is sleeping, I’m getting my creative on (When I really should be cleaning the house!)

Have I told you how much I love my hot glue gun? No? I just don’t know how I’d live without it! We picked up these gorgeous pink gumboots at some Op Shops, and with a little tulle, ribbon and hot glue, viola! Gumboots with tutus! :) But these are destined to be table centres, so I’ve drilled some holes in the bottom, and turned them in to little planters. I’ve put in Lobelias and made sure I got some with little flower buds, so hopefully they grow and bloom in time for the party in a couple of weeks.

Tutu Gumboots

Tutu Gumboots

Should I tutu up the little ones as well? And how cute are they on the gingham. I can’t wait to bring you this party when it’s all together!

Gumboot Planters

Gumboot Planters

The next thing I’ve been making this weekend so far has been the invitations for the Under the Sea party. I thought the perfect way to make a statement was the good old message in a bottle! So I hunted down some corks to fit some bottles I already had, then it was a trip to the beach to pick up some sand and shells. My little miss LOVED that part! I had also done the digital design on the invitation, as I wanted the invite to reflect some parts of the party decor later on. I really enjoyed putting these together, they are just so adorable!

Putting the bottles together

Putting the bottles together

The finished Message in a Bottle invitations

The finished Message in a Bottle invitations

So that’s been my Easter long weekend so far, now off to make some carrot cupcakes and get ready for the Easter Bunny’s visit! What are you up to this weekend? Hope whatever it is you have a wonderful time sharing it with family and friends.

A Vintage Tea Wedding – Suga and Murray, March 2013

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We had the absolute pleasure of styling a beautiful wedding over the weekend. The couple wanted to give it a vintage style with a focus on using some amazing dinnerware that the brides family had spent many months hunting through op shops for. We were delighted to custom make the doily and flag bunting and the wedding direction arrow sign, as well as supply the gifts table, the seating plan, the cake table and all the sweet little crystal and silver vases.

The Wedding was held at The Briars, a beautiful old homestead on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. The Ceremony had been planned for outside in the garden of the homestead, but with  impending heavy rain there was a very quick switch to set up inside the homestead before all the guests arrived.

The Reception was held in a marquee just outside the homestead, which looked out over the rolling hills of Mt Martha.  Strung with Lantern lights and the vintage doily bunting, it was simple and beautiful at the same time. The guests were seated at four long tables, with each place set with gorgeous mismatched china, from main plate through to tea cup.  The flowers down the middle were in the mismatched crystal and silver vases which added a lovely shabby chic touch.

I love the way so many things about two cultures came together as one (the bride is Sri Lankan and the groom Australian), my favourite of which was the wedding cake. When it arrived it was not at all what I was expecting, but we piled up this delicious, nutty Sri Lankan Love Cake (a tradition at Sri Lankan festivities) and decorated it as if it was a western style wedding cake. Very pleased with the results, and after tasting a crumb I’m tempted to make it for myself! I’ve found a recipe here and will have to try it soon.

For the cake table and the gift table we supplied some wine barrels and made a trestle top (for the gift table) which added to the vintage, rustic feel of the night. Well, we’re all packed up now, but I hope Suga and Murray had a fabulous night with plenty of dancing, and best wishes for a Happily Ever After.

Michelle A    xoxo

Wooden Wedding Directions Sign

Wooden Wedding Directions Sign

Gifts Table

 

The Table Settings

The Table Settings

The View through the Marquee

The View through the Marquee

Doilies

The Wedding Cake Stand

The Wedding Cake Stand

 

Gorgeous Place Settings

Gorgeous Place Settings

Beautiful china really made these place settings.

Beautiful china really made these place settings.

The place setting with beautiful iced cookies and tea as the wedding favours

The place setting with beautiful iced cookies and tea as the wedding favours

Pretty Plates

Pretty Plates

This was going to be the arch they were married under, but with heaving rain threatening, we moved it to become the grand entrance to the reception marquee

This was going to be the arch they were married under, but with heaving rain threatening, we moved it to become the grand entrance to the reception marquee

The Briars Homestead

The Briars Homestead

Merry Christmas from Party in a Teacup

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We love Christmas here at Party in a Teacup, so to share the love we thought we’d share some printable bunting to decorate your home or office.
We’ve made it up in 6 different Christmassy sayings, so you can choose one or have them all!
Just print out the PDF on some cardstock, cut out the flags, punch a hole in each top corner and thread on to some string or ribbon. Makes for a wonderful christmas craft activity with the kids.
Click on the links below to get the PDF Files -
Peace Love Joy
 Merry Christmas
 Jingle Bells
Happy Holidays
Deck The Halls
Tis the Season

Peace Love Joy

Peace Love Joy Bunting Sample

Happy Decorating and a very Merry Christmas! Lots of love from Michelle & Michelle

You’ll really DIG this party!

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Today we had the privelige of putting together a birthday party for a gorgeous 2 year old boy. He LOVES construction vehicles and will stop his mum if they are out for a walk to look at any building that is going on. It meant that choosing the theme for this party was a breeze! Construction vehicles all the way! We put together the perfect printable package and styled the party with the help of Jodie and Steve, Xavier’s gorgeous parents.

Jodie made the most amazing birthday cake, I wish I’d taken photos of the inside, it was layers of chocolate and vanilla!

The construction site birthday cake!

Steve had a blast covering the front of the house in caution tape. In fact, if he had more of it the whole house would have been plastered!

Xavier’s Dad had a ball decorating the front of the house in caution tape!

The styling of the party was nice and easy and very cost effective. The backdrop to the dessert table was strips of danger tape hanging over the window, and then we hung the custom printed bunting over the top. We used some of Xavier’s many Tonka Trucks around the house as props and food stands. The only new things made for the food table were the cake pop stands, which we can make to suit a huge range of themes. They certainly made an impact!

The Sweets Table! 

A truckload of chocolate crackles

Cakepops and Chocpops in our custom make cakepop stand

Custom Construction Bunting

Construction themed cake pop stand

Can I steal a cake pop?

Cupcakes and cakepops

There were plenty of things for the youngsters to get up to while the parents chatted away, including digging in the sandpit, painting plaster shapes, and colouring in, but my favourite was the good old painting the fence with water. The kids loved it!! A couple of bright yellow buckets and some cheap paintbrushes and they were all set.

Painting the Fence

Friends painting the fence together

Thank you so much to Jodie, Steve, Xavier and baby Thomas for having us along, we had a ball!

A High Tea in the Country

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Michelle A in her other life works with the CFA, and is a volunteer at the Bullengarook Fire Brigade. At their annual community dinner we donated a High Tea for 10 which was auctioned off and the lucky winning bidder was Jane. She decided to host an evening high tea, she’d provide the dinner type nibblies and some champagne, and we’d provide the tea and sweets.
Her house out in Bullengarook, North west of Melbourne was just divine, and her beautiful big table was perfect for a crowd of girlfriends to gather around. I hear that lots of fun was had, gossip spoken and champagne drunk. One of the ladies even tried each one of the teas on selection! What a wonderful way to spend and evening with the girls. Thanks Jane, it was lovely to work with you.

Tinkerbell + Cupcakes = A Very Cute 5th Birthday!

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The night before Leah’s 5th Birthday Party we went down to help set up, and she couldn’t be more excited. She wanted to hang posters and streamers, put out the plates and fill the jars with lollies. She was a great little helper!

Leah  loves Tinkerbell and cupcakes, so we put the two together to come up with a Tinkerbell themed cupcake decorating party. Each guest was able to decorate 2 cupcakes, one to eat now and one to take home. Out on the table we had all the ready iced cupcakes stacked up and plenty of toppings for the kids to use. M&M’s, lolly ice creams and mini oreos were definitely the favourites. Each cupcake then had some magic fairy (or dragon) sprinkles added before they were devoured by the kids and they went to burn off some of that energy playing in the back yard.

The beautiful Tinkerbell cake was made by one of Leah’s friend’s mums, It was gorgeous AND delicious! As an extra treat we had a lolly buffet for the kids to  make their own lolly bags from.

The Bunting, cupcake toppers and other printables were made by Party in  a Teacup using some Disney Tinkerbell illustrations. We also put together the favour boxes, provided the stocked lolly buffet, cupcakes and cake stands, and styled the room with the help of Leah and her mum.